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Nick Vigilante
0a7bb80a1e
## Summary
Phase 2 of the H1 → front-matter migration (`DOCS-483`; parent
`DOCS-477`). Makes the two reference-doc generators emit per-page
metadata as YAML front matter instead of a leading `# H1`, so generated
pages are self-describing and `make gen` stops reverting migrated pages
(Phase 3).
Phase 1 (`DOCS-482`) made the coder.com renderers prefer a front-matter
`title` (manifest fallback).
> [!NOTE]
> Rebased onto `main` and fully regenerated, and updated across two
rounds of Coder Agents Review — see **Review follow-ups** below.
## Changes
- **`scripts/clidocgen/command.tpl` + `gen.go` + `main.go`** — front
matter now carries `title` (from `fullName`) and `description` (from the
command's `Short`), and the leading `# H1` is dropped. The CLI index
page's front matter is taken from the manifest `Command Line` route
(title/description/icon_path).
- **`scripts/apidocgen/postprocess/main.go`** — reads the manifest and,
at write time, injects front matter carrying each section's `title` plus
any curated `description`, `state`, and `icon_path`. The API index
page's front matter is taken from the manifest `REST API` route.
- **`scripts/docgenenv`** (new shared code) — one `YAMLScalar`
front-matter escaper, one `Route`/`Manifest` schema +
`LoadManifest`/`FindRoute`, and one `FrontMatter(Route)` emitter, all
imported by both generators (no duplicated helpers, types, or emitters).
- Regenerated all **166 CLI + 31 API** reference pages.
### Metadata → front matter, and what stays in the manifest
Every *per-page* manifest field is mirrored into the page's front
matter: `title`, `description`, `state`, `icon_path`. The **structural**
fields stay in `manifest.json`:
- `children` — the nav tree (explicitly out of scope).
- `path` — the manifest's pointer to the file; a page carrying its own
path is redundant/error-prone, so it's treated like `children`.
The fields are **duplicated** into front matter and **`manifest.json` is
left unchanged**, so this is a **no-op for rendering today** (coder.com
strips front matter for `llms`, and Algolia + the renderer read only
`title`). Removing the fields from the manifest is the natural
follow-up, gated on the renderer reading them from front matter first.
### Why the API side changes the postprocessor, not the `.dot` templates
The issue text suggested editing
`scripts/apidocgen/markdown-template/*`. I deliberately did **not**,
because the postprocessor derives each page's **filename, section title,
and manifest route** from the leading `# {name}` line
(`extractSectionName`). Emitting front matter from the template would
break that extraction. Instead the widdershins templates still emit `#
{name}`, the postprocessor reads it (and now verifies it), and then
swaps the heading for a front-matter block as each section is written.
## Review follow-ups (Coder Agents Review)
### Round 1 — addressed in `e53d5e03` (all threads resolved)
- **CRF-1 / CRF-4** — de-duplicated the escaper and the
`route`/`manifest` schema + traversal into `scripts/docgenenv` (shared
by both generators).
- **CRF-2** — `YAMLScalar` now quotes YAML-reserved scalars
(`true/false/null/…`, numbers); no current value is affected.
- **CRF-3** — added unit tests: a `YAMLScalar` round-trip, `FindRoute`,
and `prependFrontMatter`.
- **CRF-5** — the CLI and API **index** pages now mirror their manifest
route's title/description/icon_path instead of a hardcoded
`coder`/`API`, fixing a rendered-heading regression (`REST API`/`Command
Line` were being overwritten).
- **CRF-6** — dropped the dead `#login` anchor in
`docs/support/support-bundle.md` (the migrated `login.md` no longer
mints that heading anchor).
- **CRF-7 / CRF-8 / CRF-11** — renamed to `prependFrontMatter`, switched
to `bytes.Cut`, and it now strips the first line only when it is the `#
{name}` heading (`extractSectionName` errors otherwise).
- **CRF-9** — removed the orphan `docs/reference/api/chat.md` (not in
the manifest, not linked; the real page is `chats.md`).
- **CRF-10** — the metadata read and the manifest rewrite now share one
`FindRoute` traversal.
- **CRF-13** — moot under squash-merge; this branch is a single
scopeless commit.
- **CRF-15** — the pre-existing `sort.Slice`/`slices.IsSorted`
comparator is left as-is per the review (out of scope; safe today
because section names are unique).
### Round 2 — addressed in `ee796e7107` (all threads resolved)
- **CRF-16** (P1) — removed three em-dashes from new doc comments (the
only `make lint` failure on the prior head); the emdash gate is green.
- **CRF-17 / CRF-18** — unified front-matter emission into one shared
`docgenenv.FrontMatter(Route)`, used by the API postprocessor directly
and by `command.tpl` via a `frontMatter` template func. This retires the
hand-written template YAML and the
`indexTitle`/`indexDescription`/`indexIconPath` closures, so a new
front-matter field is wired in one place, and it gives the CLI index the
`state` arm it previously lacked. Verified byte-identical: a full CLI +
API regen produces zero page changes.
- **CRF-19** — CLI child sort switched to `slices.SortFunc` +
`cmp.Compare` (typed comparator).
- **CRF-20** — reworded the `prependFrontMatter` comment:
`extractSectionName`'s fail-fast is the load-bearing guard; the prefix
check is a defensive backstop.
- **CRF-21** — added `icon_path`/`state` coverage in `docgenenv`'s
`TestFrontMatter/AllFields` (the branch the index page relies on,
previously at 0%).
- **CRF-22** — `YAMLScalar` no longer emits a trailing-space value as a
bare scalar (YAML strips it on read, so it would not round-trip); added
test coverage.
- **CRF-24** — the shared emitter removed the duplicated `cliIndexRoute`
doc comment; the rationale now lives in one place.
- **CRF-23** (Phase 3, out of scope here) — noted: the API generator
wipes and regenerates `reference/api/` from the manifest, so removing
curated metadata from the manifest in Phase 3 needs another source first
(a generator that preserves existing front matter, or metadata carried
alongside the swagger annotations).
- **Process (Mafu-san)** — the verification set below now leads with
`make lint`, the mandatory CI gate that the earlier list omitted.
## Cross-repo dependency
**Resolved — this PR no longer has a hard merge-ordering gate** (CRF-14
was right; the earlier "must merge after #968" note was stale).
The coder.com surfaces that would otherwise leak raw front matter from
`coder/coder` `main` are already front-matter-aware on merged PRs:
- **coder.com#964** (`DOCS-554`, llms-full.txt corpus + Algolia) —
**merged**.
- **coder.com#974** (`DOCS-574`, the `.md` proxy twin + `llms.txt` index
titles) — **merged**.
coder.com#968 (`DOCS-577`) was re-scoped to only the renderer
route-metadata generalization; it's a no-op on today's corpus and its
own description confirms the "deploy before the generators" constraint
no longer applies (that was driven by the llms corpus, now in #964).
Worth a final confirmation that #964/#974 are **deployed** before merge,
but there's no branch/PR ordering blocker left.
## Verification & evidence
AI was the primary author of this PR (see disclosure below); per the [AI
Contribution
Guidelines](https://coder.com/docs/about/contributing/AI_CONTRIBUTING)
here is manual verification.
- `make lint` (golangci-lint + the emdash gate) passes; `go build` / `go
vet` / `go test` are clean for the generators + `scripts/docgenenv`;
`pnpm check-docs` passes.
- `swagger.json`, `docs.go`, and `manifest.json` are **unchanged** —
metadata is duplicated into front matter; command/section names and
routes did not move.
- The diff is purely additive front matter
(`title`/`description`/`state`/`icon_path`) + the leading H1 removal; no
body reflow. A full CLI + API regen produces **zero** page changes
beyond the two index pages.
<details>
<summary>Terminal evidence</summary>
CLI `description` from the command's `Short` (`YAMLScalar` quotes when
needed, e.g. a `Short` with a colon):
```md
---
title: server
description: Start a Coder server
---
```
API pages inherit curated manifest metadata (only Agents/Chats have any
today):
```md
---
title: Chats
description: "REST endpoints for Coder Agents Chats API (programmatic agent sessions)."
state:
- early access
---
```
Diff scope + "no body changes" proof (uses an explicit `base..HEAD`
range, so it actually tests the claim):
```
$ git diff --shortstat origin/main
210 files changed, 1447 insertions(+), 344 deletions(-)
# = 166 CLI + 31 API reference pages + generators + scripts/docgenenv
# swagger.json / docs.go / manifest.json: NOT modified
# Every removed line under docs/reference is a leading "# H1"; nothing else:
$ git diff origin/main..HEAD -- docs/reference/ | grep '^-' | grep -v '^---' | grep -v '^-# '
(empty)
$ pnpm check-docs
Summary: 0 error(s)
```
</details>
Linear: DOCS-483
> This PR was created with AI assistance (Coder Agents).
About
Coder is a self-hosted platform for running AI coding agents and cloud development environments on infrastructure you control. It works with any cloud, IDE, OS, Git provider, and IDP.
Coder Workspaces
Coder Workspaces are cloud development environments defined with Terraform, connected through a secure Wireguard tunnel, and automatically shut down when not in use. Agents and developers share the same workspace infrastructure.
- Defined in Terraform: Templates describe the infrastructure for each workspace, from EC2 VMs and Kubernetes Pods to Docker containers.
- Any architecture and OS: Support ARM and x86-64 across Windows, Linux, and macOS from a single deployment.
- Managed by admins: Platform teams create and maintain templates that enforce approved images, resource limits, and security policies.
- Accessed from any IDE: Connect through VS Code, JetBrains, Cursor, a web terminal, remote desktop, or SSH.
- Automatic shutdown: Idle workspaces stop automatically to reduce cloud spend, and restart in seconds when needed.
Coder Agents
Coder Agents is a native AI coding agent built into Coder. The agent loop runs in the Coder control plane on your infrastructure, not in the workspace and not in a vendor's cloud. Developers interact with agents through the web UI or the REST API for programmatic and CI-driven workflows.
- Self-hosted agent loop: The control plane handles planning, model calls, and tool dispatch. Workspaces have zero AI awareness.
- No API keys in workspaces: LLM credentials stay in the control plane.
- Any model: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Bedrock, or self-hosted endpoints. Switching is a configuration change.
- Governance and cost controls: Centralized model approval, per-user spend limits, and audit logging.
- Open source and inspectable: The full platform is available to audit and extend.
IDE support
You can use:
-
Any Web IDE, such as
- code-server
- JetBrains Projector
- Jupyter
- And others
-
Your existing remote development environment:
-
A file sync such as Mutagen
Why remote development
Provisioning consistent development environments for a large engineering team is difficult. Each developer has preferences for operating systems, editors, and toolchains, and ensuring a reliable build environment across all of them is a maintenance burden. A missed step during onboarding or an unsupported local configuration can cost hours of debugging.
Remote development solves this by moving the environment off the developer's machine and into managed infrastructure. The developer's laptop becomes a portal into the actual compute where work happens. If a device is lost or replaced, access is simply revoked; no source code or credentials are stored locally.
This approach provides:
- Speed: Server-grade hardware accelerates builds, tests, and large workloads without requiring expensive local machines.
- Consistency: Infrastructure tools such as Terraform, nix, Docker, and Dev Containers produce identical environments for every developer.
- Security: Source code stays on private servers. Users and groups are managed through SSO and RBAC.
- Compatibility: Workspaces share infrastructure configurations with staging and production, reducing configuration drift.
- Accessibility: Browser-based IDEs and remote IDE extensions let developers work from any device, including lightweight laptops, Chromebooks, and tablets.
Read more on the Coder blog, the Slack engineering blog, or from Alex Ellis at OpenFaaS.
Why Coder
The key difference between Coder and other platforms is that the entire system, agent loop, control plane, model routing, and workspace provisioning, runs on infrastructure you control.
For agents, this means platform teams can:
- Run the entire agent loop on their infrastructure, with no SaaS dependency for orchestration.
- Define MCP servers, skills, and system prompts centrally so every agent session starts with the same tools, policies, and context.
- Keep LLM credentials out of workspaces entirely.
- Tie every agent action to an authenticated user identity.
- Support air-gapped and restricted-network deployments with self-hosted models.
For workspaces, this means admins can:
- Support any architecture (ARM, x86-64) and operating system (Windows, Linux, macOS).
- Modify pod/container specs, such as adding disks, managing network policies, or setting/updating environment variables.
- Use VM or dedicated workspaces, developing with Kernel features (no container knowledge required).
- Enable persistent workspaces, which are like local machines, but faster and hosted by a cloud service.
Pricing
Coder is free and open source under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. All developer productivity features are included in the open source version. A Premium license is available for enhanced support and custom deployments.
How Coder works
Coder workspaces are represented with Terraform, but you do not need to know Terraform to get started. The Coder Registry provides production-ready templates for AWS EC2, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, and other providers.
Providers and compute environments
Workspaces can include more than just compute. Terraform can add storage buckets, secrets, sidecars, and other resources.
See the templates documentation for details.
What Coder is not
-
Coder is not an infrastructure as code (IaC) platform.
- Terraform is the first IaC provisioner in Coder, allowing Coder admins to define Terraform resources as Coder workspaces.
-
Coder is not a DevOps/CI platform.
- Coder workspaces can be configured to follow best practices for cloud-service-based workloads, but Coder is not responsible for how you define or deploy the software you write.
-
Coder is not an online IDE.
- Coder supports common editors, such as VS Code, vim, and JetBrains, all over HTTPS or SSH.
-
Coder is not a collaboration platform.
- You can use Git with your favorite Git platform and dedicated IDE extensions for pull requests, code reviews, and pair programming.
-
Coder is not a SaaS/fully-managed offering.
- Coder is a self-hosted solution. You must host Coder in a private data center or on a cloud service, such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.